VIDEO: Kogi Decides: Police, Soldiers Aid Thugs Chase Voters, Snatch Ballot Boxes
There was a high level of irregularities perpetrated by political thugs and some security officials at the November 16 governorship election in Kogi State.
Observers witnessed ballot box snatching, disappearance of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials, harassment of journalists and observers, delays in arrival of voting materials and spontaneous protests.
The irregularities broke out shortly after the exercise began on Saturday morning, as supporters of the two dominant political parties — Peoples Democratic Party and All Progressives Congress — attempted to coerce voters.
Newsflash247 observed that while thugs invaded some polling units, security officers were induced by party agents in some places, with some of them being caught on camera collecting bribes.
Elsewhere, the security agents were overzealous as they restricted vehicular movement of accredited journalists and observers. There were also cases of vote-buying in many of the polling units, acts that contravene electoral guidelines.
Ballot Snatching:
The thugs who were fully armed also beat up some voters while some observers and journalists sustained injuries.
Security operatives were ultimately able to restore peace to allow voters cast their ballots from 12:00 noon, four hours after the exercise was scheduled to officially commence at 8:00 a.m.
Newsflash247 on Saturday also reported how thugs invaded the some polling unit at about 4:21 p.m.
Newsflash247 reporter who witnessed the violence reported that about 20 thugs came with dangerous weapons and chased away some Youth Corps members working as ad-hoc staff of INEC.
The thugs carted away thumb printed ballot papers and boxes and escaped through the rear of the unfence Primary School. Many of the voters also fled the poling unit for fear of being harmed by the rampaging thugs.
Watch the video credited by Sahara reporters:
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